First of all, I’d like to thank Anne over at Randomthingstours for inviting me onto this blog tour and to the author and publisher, Orenda Books, for my ARC. I think between you all you have just fried my brain!

Before I share my thoughts, here’s what the official blurb says:

One crossed wire, three dead bodies and six bottles of bleach

Seth Beauman can’t sleep. He stays up late, calling strangers from his phonebook, hoping to make a connection, while his wife, Maeve, sleeps upstairs. A crossed wire finds a suicidal Hadley Serf on the phone to Seth, thinking she is talking to The Samaritans.But a seemingly harmless, late-night hobby turns into something more for Seth and for Hadley, and soon their late-night talks are turning into day-time meet-ups. And then this dysfunctional love story turns into something altogether darker when Seth brings Hadley home…And someone is watching…Dark, sexy, dangerous and wildly readable, Good Samaritans marks the scorching return of one of crime fiction’s most exceptional voices.

My thoughts:

As soon as I put this book down my first thought was holy sh*t I’ve just read the most f*cked up book ever! I was reading all the time thinking I really ought to be bleaching my eyes after reading this but at the same time unable to tear myself away from the pages! Sick, twisted, depraved but oh so fu*king intelligent! If you are offended or upset by references to suicide, by the raw description of mental illness and some of the darkest sex scenes ever then do not pick this book up but if you are looking for something that is going to blow your mind away and offer you a unique and intense experience then pick it up and hide yourself away from the world because believe me you are not going to be able to put this down!

My first mistake was to read the prologue just as I was stepping into a bath! Not the best idea, let’s just say I didn’t soak for too long after that! A mesmerising beginning to the novel as I was immediately pulled into the lives of the characters and indeed the very darkness that surrounded their souls. I just got this feeling deep inside that I was about to be taken on a deliciously dark journey into the lives of the characters and I wasn’t wrong at all!

There was that intense feeling of being inside the head of each of the characters at the beginning of the story, an almost unreal feeling of not really knowing where I was or whose persona I had been immersed in. Some might think the start of this book confusing but I prefer to think of it as somehow being submerged in the narrative as I got to know the characters.

It was difficult to like any of the characters, they all either dragged me down or made me feel quite dirty after rolling around the pages with them – how wonderfully magnificent to have such an unlikeable bunch yet be compelled to dive deeper into their lives. I was so caught up in the characters that I found it almost impossible to put the book down. It is a cross between a psychological thriller and a twisted love story. It explored mental illness, suicide, guilt, stagnant relationships and the topical theme of living a “filtered” “perfect” life through social media. Full of deviant twists and disturbing turns it would spoil it to talk of the plot other than what is contained in the official blurb above.

Will Carver has a unique writing style which may seem odd to start with but somehow drew me into the story and the lives of the characters further. I felt as though the pages were laced with a substance that served to hook me, it was like a literary crack cocaine, one hit and I was powerless to resist! Pick it up and read it, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series (Arrow). He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age 11, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, while working on his next thriller. He lives in Reading with his two children.

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Published by chapterinmylife

Hi my name is Sharon and I have an obsession - it's reading! My preferred genre is crime/thriller/police procedural with a penchant for Tartan Noir.
This is my blog for my book reviews and I would love to connect with other like minded readers and authors. I'm happy to feature interviews on my blog, review ARCs (kindle and hard copies)
All views are honest and my own
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